Riveting gun and magazine therefor



April 15, 9 J. AHERNE-H ERON ,5

RIVETING GUN AND MAGAZINE THEREFOR Filed Feb. 24, 1948 12s /wE/vmk Z Jbhn Aherne-Heror| flHorngjf' Patented Apr. 15, 1952 R-IVETING GUN AND MAGAZINE THEREFOR John Aherne-Heron, Farnham Common, Buckinghamshire, England, assignor to Aviation Developments Limited, Welwyn Garden City, Herts, England, a joint-stock company of England Application February 24, 1948, Serial No. 10,407 In Great Britain January 6, 1939 Section 1, Public Law 690, August 8, 1946 Patent expires January 6, 1959 7 Claims.

The invention relates to riveting guns and like apparatus and to a magazine attachment for feeding rivets thereto.

In the riveting apparatus with which the present invention is concerned, the rivets are tubular and are threaded onto the shank of a mandrel having an enlarged head. The upsetting operation is' performed by drawing the head of the mandrel partly or completely through the rivet, from one end of the latter, while a counterpressure is applied to the opposite end of the rivet by an abutment on the gun.

According to the present invention the riveting gun has a magazine for a number of tubular rivets each mounted on a separate mandrel with an enlarged head, feed means for carrying a rivet .and its associated mandrel from the magazine into axial alignment with the gun, means for engaging the mandrel in this position to apply a tractive force thereto and an abutment to provide a counter-pressure while the mandrel head isdrawn back to upset the rivet.

The invention also provides a magazine for .holding a number of tubular rivets each carried on a mandrel with an enlarged head and having means for presenting a succession of rivets and their associated mandrels for insertion into a riveting gun, the position of the rivets and mandrels when presented for insertion into a riveting gun being preferably determined by a chuck formed of stops releasable when a mandrel is inserted into the gun.

A riveting gun. with a magazine in accordance with one form of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

I Fig. 1 is a view partly in longitudinal section, showing the magazine in position for inserting a fresh mandrel;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the gun in a position ready for riveting;

Fig. 3 is an axial view of the magazine with an end cover removed;

Fig. 4 is an axial view of the inside of the end cover; and

.Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the magazine on the line V--V of Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4: A riveting gun comprises a casing I00 having within it a carriage IOI which is moved axially by any suitable means to perform the riveting operation. Such means are well known in riveting guns and may comprise a cam. Screwed into the left hand end (as seen in Fig. 1) of the casing I00 is a nose piece I02 into which an anvil I03 is threaded. The tip I04 of the anvil I03 provides an abutment for the head of the rivet during the upsetting operation. The shank of the upsetting mandrel passes through a central passage I05 in the anvil I03, the inner end of said passage being narrowed at I06 to centralise the mandrel.

The end of the shank of the mandrel projects into a recess I0! within the nose piece I02 and is gripped by jaws 108 having conical outer surfaces 509 which coact with corresponding internal surfaces H0 of a sleeve III secured by a screw thread H2 to the carriag I 0| and axially slidable in guides in the recess I01 in the nose piece I02. The jaws I08 are held together by a wire spring loop H3 and are urged towards the internal surfaces N0 of the sleeve III by a light coil spring H4 the other end of which abuts on a plug H5 screwed into the right hand. end of the sleeve III. The plug H5 has a saw cut IIS to facilitate its insertion into or removal from the sleeve III.

' Secured to the casing 00 by bolts I I1 is a wedge piece I I8 having a guideway II9 which intersects the axis of the riveting gun a short distance in front of the anvil I03.

A magazine comprises a casing I which serves also as a carriage having flanged edges 2| for cooperation with the guideway H9 to permit movement of the magazine from the position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 2. The casing or carriage I20 has a fixed end cover I22 and a removable flanged cover I23 held in position by a bolt I24 which passes through the centre of the casing or carriage I20 and carries a wing nut I25 locked against a screw nut I26. Within the casing are stored a number of rivets I21 each carried on its associated mandrel I28. The heads I29 at the ends of the mandrels are of greater diameter than the bore of the rivet so that when the mandrel head is drawn into the rivet the shank is upset by outward expansion which forms a bulge at the tail end of the rivet. Hereafter the head of the mandrel may either pass completely through the bore of the rivet or the mandrel may be designed to fracture just below the head when excessive pressure is encountered. This invention is applicable to either type of rivet and mandrel.

The shanks of the mandrels I23 lie in parallel sided radial slots I30 in a cylinder I3I which is mounted on a square part I32 of the shank of the bolt E24 so that rotation of the bolt by means of the wing nut I25 causes turning of the cylinder I34. Each of the slots I30 can accommodate several mandrels along its length. The tail ends of the mandrel shanks 28 pass through a spiral aseaese slot I33 in a plate I34r secured within the casing I20, while the shanks of the rivets I21 mounted on 7 said mandrels lie in a similar spiral slot I35 in a plate I30 secured tothe inner parts of the flanges of the cover I23 (see Fig. 4). The widths of the slots I33 and I35 are slightly greater than the diameters of the mandrel shank and rivetshank respectively, While the pitch of the convolutions is just greater than the diameter of the head or a rivet. The spiral slot I35 in the plate 30 is continued by a tangential slot it? of the same width which opens into a space I30 between a pair of spring arms I30'the upper ends of which are adapted to grip the shank of a rivet. The spiral slot I33 is also continued by a short tangential slot.

When the wing nut I25 is turned in the feed direction (clockwise in this case) it turns the cylinder I3I which carries with it the mandrels and rivetslying in its radial slots I 30. Owing to the engagement of the tail of the shank and the shank of the rivet in the spiral slots I33 and I35 respectively the rivets move outwardly along these slots as the wing nut I25 is turned, until, upon reaching the periphery of the cylinder at the outer end of the slot, the rivet, with its associated mandrel, is caused to be ejected into the tangential extension I31 of the spiral slot I35. The shank of the mandrel then passes into a tangential slot I40 slightly wider than the diameter of the mandrel shank and which extends to the inclined surface I4I of the casing I20. Upward pressure on the head of its rivet from the head of the rivet below causes themandrels to move successively up the slot I to a position (indicated in Fig. in which the shank of the uppermost rivet is held by the jaws I30. The mandrel tends to pivot, under the upward pressure of the succeeding rivets transmitted through their heads, about the point where it is held by the jaws I39 so that the shank of the mandrel swings upward until it comes into contact with a stop in the form of a spring loaded ball I42 housed in a recess in the wall of the tangential slot I40. In this position the shank of the mandrel is coaxial with the central passage I05 of the anvil I03. It is essential that the mandrel should be located accurately in this position as the feed operation depends on the tail end of the mandrel entering the passage I05.

The feed operation is accomplished by moving the magazine from the position shown in Fig. l

to that shown in Fig. 2. At the beginning of this movement the tail end of the mandrel shank enters the central passage I05 of the anvil while the head of the mandrel abuts against a plate M3 mounted on the casing I20 of the magazine by wings I40. As the mandrel shank moves down the passage 1 05, being pressed by the plate I43 as the magazine moves in the direction of the arrow (Fig. 1), the transverse component or" the movemoves out of contact with the head of the mandrel and. allows the magazine to move into the position ready for riveting as illustrated in Fig. 2.

If at the end of this feed movement the head of the rivet is not in contact with the abutment face I 04 of the anvil I03 it is drawn against it I09 of the jaws I00 and the internal surfaces,

I0 of the sleeve I I I, thereby increasing the gripping pressure of the jaws on the shank of the mandrel to a value preventing slipping between the mandrel and the jaws as the rivet is upset by drawing the head of the mandrel partly or completely through it.

When the upsetting operation has been completed the mandrel is ejected by returning the carriage IOI and jaws I08 to their original position in which the smaller end of the jaws is pressed against the end I45 of the recess I01 causing the jaws to release the shank of the man drel and allow it to be drawn out again through the central passage I05 of the anvil I03. A fresh rivet and mandrel can then be inserted by again bringing the magazine into the feed position and repeating the operation above described.

If desired the magazine feeding and reciprocating mechanism may be coupled to the operating mechanism of the gun to provide automatic operation.

I claim:

1. A riveting gun having a mandrel-receiving bore extending along the gun axis, said gun being provided with a magazine including a storage member holding in substantially parallel relation and parallel with the gun axis a plurality of tubular rivets each mounted on a separate mandrel with an enlarged head, feed means for carrying a rivet and its associated mandrel in the storage member from a position laterally displaced from the gun axis to a position in axial alignment with said mandrel-receiving bore, means for moving said axially aligned mandrel into said bore through the end thereof, means for engaging the mandrel when positioned within said bore to apply a tractive force thereto and to move the mandrel head axially to upset the rivet, there being an abutment on said gun positioned to provide a counter-pressure upon the rivet while the mandrel head is being moved axially to upset the rivet. V

2. A riveting gun according to claim 1 wherein said means for moving the mandrel into the bore comprises guide means supporting said magazine for movement along a guideway extending lengthwise of the gun.

3. A riveting gun according to claim 1 wherein said means for moving the mandrel into the bore 7 comprises guide means forming a guideway for said magazine lengthwise of the gun and angularly disposed with respect to the gun axis.

4. A riveting gun according to claim 1 in which said magazine includes a rotary spindle having storage means mounted thereon in which said rivets and their associated mandrels are stored around said spindle, said storage means including means operative upon turning of said spindle to j feed a succession of rivets and 'mandrelsfinto said axially aligned position for insertion into said gun.

5. A riveting gun according to claim 1 in which said magazine'includes a rotary storage member for the rivets and theirassociated mandrels and V has a spirally grooved cam surface to feed the rivets and their associated mandrels successively into said position of axial alignment with said gun.

6. A riveting gun comprising a round anvil having a central bore for receiving the shank of a rivet-upsetting mandrel, a chuck mounted in the rear of said anvil and having clamping jaws for clamping the end of said mandrel, means mounting said chuck for movement away from said anvil to apply a tractive force to said mandrel, a carriage mounted for reciprocation from a forward position adjacent the front of said anvil to a rear position adjacent the rear of said anvil, and a magazine for upsetting mandrels mounted upon said carriage and being arranged to present a mandrel in axial alignment with the bore of said anvil when said carriage is in its forward position, and being adapted to insert said mandrel into the bore of said anvil upon movement to its rear position.

7. A riveting gun according to claim 6 wherein said carriage moves along an axis disposed at an acute angle with respect to the axis of the gun,

and said magazine is provided with resilient means for releasably holding a mandrel in the feeding position.

JOHN AHERNE-HERON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 392,761 Schillmoller Nov. 13, 1888 462,243 Egge Nov. 3, 1891 1,125,411 Szemerey Jan. 19, 1915 1,575,753 Gibson Mar. 9, 1926 2,304,425 Sempie Dec. 8, 1942 2,344,127 Cherry Mar. 14, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 524,687 Great Britain Aug. 13, 1940 

